Review

A Review of Literature on Medical Students

and Scholarly Research: Experiences,
Attitudes, and Outcomes
Youjin Chang and Christopher J. Ramnanan, PhD

Abstract
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Purpose original data delineating undergraduate their research experience, including

The aim of medical student research medical students’ primarily self-reported too little acknowledgment, time, and
programs is to develop interest in experiences with, outcomes related to, faculty interaction. Published studies
and competencies related to scholarly and attitudes toward research. were deficient in characterizing effects
research within future physicians. on future research engagement in
Although schools invest in these Results participants.
programs, there is currently no consensus Students generally perceive their
regarding what benefits they confer. medical school research experiences Conclusions
The goal of this review is to characterize to be positive in terms of stimulating These findings suggest that formal
students’ perceptions of research research interest and developing medical student research programs
programs during medical school as well scholarly research abilities. The majority can be optimized by improving the
as the outcomes attributed to these of students author at least one article, recognition of student effort, promoting
programs to provide recommendations and first-author publications occur more student–mentor interaction, and
for their optimization. frequently as formal research experiences allowing students the option to increase
lengthen. Elective experiences do not the duration of the research experience.
Method differ from mandatory experiences Future studies are needed to determine
In June 2013, the authors reviewed in terms of student satisfaction or whether these programs affect research
the literature (1950–June 2013) and productivity. Several studies uncovered participation and productivity later in
identified 20 reports that provided negative student perceptions regarding participants’ careers.

Scholarly research training programs instance, the medical schools at Duke The majority of medical educators
are valued components of undergraduate University and Stanford University who attended the 2001 International
medical education; these programs allow developed research programs in the 1960s Association of Medical Science Educators
students the opportunity to develop to provide an investigative counterpart Conference indicated that they believed
skills related to critically evaluating to traditional instruction, to broaden scientific education is critical to the
new information, communicating and students’ scientific training, and to recruit development of clinician–scientists and/
disseminating research findings, and students to careers in academic medicine.3 or general clinicians.4 Nonetheless—
contributing to and advancing medical In the United Kingdom, research despite the perceived importance of
knowledge.1 To support medical trainees opportunities have become mandatory research as part of medical training—
in enhancing research skills that they may to help students develop critical appraisal investigators have noticed a decrease
require in their future careers, medical skills that they can later apply through in physicians interested or engaging in
schools have implemented curricula and/ practicing evidence-based medicine.2 research in Europe, the United States, and
or a framework to integrate research Further, the Royal College of Physicians Canada.5–9
skills into the medical curriculum.2 For and Surgeons of Canada has initiated the
Canadian Medical Education Directives To develop a new cadre of physician
Y. Chang is a fourth-year medical student, Faculty for Specialists (CanMEDS) framework, researchers, medical schools have
of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, which outlines seven roles that embody introduced opportunities for students
Canada.
the competencies physicians are to explore research through summer
C.J. Ramnanan is assistant professor, Division of required to master during their medical programs, electives, or mandatory
Clinical and Functional Anatomy, Department of
Innovation in Medical Education, Faculty of Medicine, education and then to put into practice curricula.3,5,10,11 Currently, many, if not all,
University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. so as to provide improved patient care.1 medical schools provide students with
Correspondence should be addressed to Christopher
According to the CanMEDS framework, formal and informal opportunities to
J. Ramnanan, Division of Clinical and Functional physicians should demonstrate a lifelong engage in research and develop scholarly
Anatomy, Department of Innovation in Medical commitment to reflective learning in the research-related skills and abilities.
Education, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa,
Roger Guindon Hall, 451 Smyth Rd., Ottawa, ON
role of scholar. As a scholar—as the role Although developing research-related
K1H 8M5, Canada; telephone: (613) 562-5800 ext. is formally defined—a physician should competencies is a goal of the educators
8702; e-mail: [email protected]. both critically evaluate information who institute these training programs,
and its sources and contribute to the how meaningful they are to students, in
Acad Med. 2015;90:1162–1173.
First published online April 4, 2015 creation, dissemination, application, and terms of providing productive, rewarding
doi: 10.1097/ACM.0000000000000702 translation of new medical knowledge.1 research experiences is unclear. The

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Copyright © by the Association of American Medical Colleges. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
 Review

ultimate benefit of such undergraduate

research experiences may be the long-term Table 1
promotion and enhancement of scholarly Search Terms and Corresponding Query Translation of Databases, June 2013
research engagement during later stages
Query/search terms Query translation
of the careers of the participants. To date,
however, the typical benefits that such medical school “schools, medical”[MeSH Terms] OR (“schools”[All Fields] AND
research programs confer have yet to be “medical”[All Fields]) OR “medical schools”[All Fields] OR (“medical”
[All Fields] AND “school”[All Fields]) OR “medical school”[All Fields]
established. Further, whether these benefits
medical student “students, medical”[MeSH Terms] OR (“students”[All Fields]
typically justify the resources used to
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AND “medical”[All Fields]) OR “medical students”[All Fields] OR

maintain such programs is also currently (“medical”[All Fields] AND “student”[All Fields]) OR “medical
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unclear. Investigating students’ opinions student”[All Fields]

on research during medical school, thus, Research skill* research skill[All Fields] OR research skills[All Fields]
could aid in identifying factors that may Research activit* research activities[All Fields] OR research activity[All Fields]
constitute an effective research curriculum.
Perception* perception[All Fields] OR perceptions[All Fields]
We therefore conducted this literature
Interest* interest[All Fields] OR interests[All Fields]
review to characterize undergraduate
medical students’ experiences with, Productivit* productivity[All Fields] OR productivities[All Fields]
activities and productivity related to,
and attitudes toward research, both they were written in English. As we were Results
to begin to characterize the universal interested in primary sources that included Included studies
benefits of such research programs and student-reported data, we excluded articles
to inform the development of effective without data and articles that were purely Twenty studies met the inclusion and
strategies and components for programs review. We further excluded studies that were included in the study (see Appendix
in undergraduate medical schools that focused on postgraduate students such as 1). Seven studies assessed mandatory
promote scholarly competencies in residents or those earning a joint MD– research programs only,2,3,12–16 8 studies
students. PhD and reports that evaluated overall assessed elective research programs,5,17–23
curricula without specifically assessing and 5 assessed both optional and
research components. mandatory programs.24–28 Of these 20
Method studies, 1 was conducted in Brazil,22 4 in
We ran searches on several databases to After the completion of the key word Europe,2,17,24,27 and 15 in the United States
identify studies that evaluated medical searches, titles and abstracts were screened and/or Canada.3,5,12–16,18–21,23,25,26,28 Below,
students’ experiences with, perceptions by the primary author (Y.C.). Both we report our analyses of the results of
of, and productivity related to research authors discussed and agreed upon the the 20 studies (see also Appendix 1).
activities. We ran separate searches in excluded articles and on the reasons for Outcomes
PubMed (seeking reports published excluding them. Both authors confirmed
from 1950 to June 2013), Scholars Portal the articles that met the inclusion criteria Of all the 20 studies reviewed, 15
(1960 to June 2013), and ProQuest described above by reading their full-text reported data on participants’ experiences
Academic OneFile (1950 to June 2013). versions. Figure 1 shows the steps involved with research,2,3,12–14,17,18,20,21,23–28 another
We examined all articles indexed with the in the literature review. 15 focused on participants’ attitudes or
medical subject heading or expert key perceptions,3,5,12–14,16,19,21–28 and 12 covered
words shown in Table 1. Variables extracted from the articles research outcomes.3,5,13–17,21,23–25,28
comprise the following:
We manually searched journals that Experience with research
commonly publish articles related to • the research program(s) in which the Self-reported data on students’
medical education—Medical Education medical student participants were experiences with research indicate that
Online, BMC Medical Education, involved, research is not new to some students.
Academic Medicine, Perspectives on • the experiences, including activities, Griffin and Hindocha24 surveyed students
Medical Education, and Teaching and that students participated in, from seven British medical schools and
Learning in Medicine—seeking articles reported that 49% of respondents had
published between 1990 and June • the motivation and skills students had experience with research before
2013. Finally, in the summer of 2013, obtained, medical school. Another study showed
we searched Google Scholar, Dogpile, • the attitudes toward and perception of that experience with research prior to
and other nonspecialist search engines. research the students demonstrated, and medical school was associated with a
Table 2 shows the search history results greater likelihood of pursing research as
obtained from our PubMed search as an • the outcomes of students’ experiences a medical student.26 The authors of this
example of our search strategy. with research (e.g., authorship on study reported that 87% of respondents
publications). enrolled in Canadian medical schools
We included studies that met the following had been involved in research prior to
criteria: (1) they investigated medical The authors determined these parameters medical school.26 Additionally, 43%
students’ interest and engagement in, and/ of interest, a priori, based on internal of these respondents did not engage
or attitudes toward, research; (2) they were discussions regarding the characterization in research as “significantly” during
available through our institution; and (3) of research programs at their institution. medical school as they had before.26

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 Review

confidence in several skills and abilities

Table 2 including formulating research questions,
Search Strategy and Results (1950 to June 2013), Applied to PubMed, June 2013 understanding research methodology,
conducting research, learning new
No. of
Search Query items found
techniques, analyzing data, writing
manuscripts, and critically appraising
#13 Search ((((((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 5 published literature.
AND medical student)) AND full text[sb] AND English[lang])) AND
productivit* Filters: Full text available; English
Attitudes and perception
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#12 Search ((((((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 18

AND medical student)) AND full text[sb] AND English[lang])) AND Medical students’ perceptions of research,
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interest* Filters: Full text available; English typically characterized after the research
#11 Search ((((((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 9 experiences end, are largely positive.
AND medical student)) AND full text[sb] AND (“1950/01/01”[PDat]: Students perceive that their research
“2013/06/30”[PDat]) AND English[lang])) AND perception* Filters: Full
text available; English experiences contributed to their career
progression, helped them to define their
#10 Search (((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 57
AND medical student) Filters: Full text available; Publication date from career paths and select their specialties,16,28
1950/01/01 to 2013/06/30; English increased their confidence regarding
#9 Search (((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 57 placing in their desired residency
AND medical student) Filters: Full text available; English positions,13 and provided an opportunity
#8 Search (((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 73 to integrate and apply their findings into
AND medical student) Filters: English their practice.23,25,27,28 They report that their
#7 Search (((research activit*) OR research skill*)) AND ((medical school) 83 positive attitudes toward research not only
AND medical student) increased their interest in research25 but
#6 Search (research activit*) OR research skill* 4,108 also encouraged them to continue their
#5 Search (((medical school) AND medical student)) AND research skill* 28 scholarly activities after graduation.3,5,14,16
#4 Search (((medical school) AND medical student)) AND research activit* 59 Influenced by such positive perceptions
#3 Search research skill* 403
of research, 98% of participating medical
students at Yale University were in favor of
#2 Search research activit* 3,732
possibly including research in the formal
#1 Search (medical school) AND medical student 24,708
curriculum.12

These students attributed this decline pursue; a minority of Queen’s students Although most studies indicated that
to perceived barriers such as too little (47%) were motivated by the opportunity most students view scholarly research
time, a paucity of available mentors, and to present their work.14 Similarly, third-year programs positively, 13% of respondents
a lack of adequate acknowledgment for medical students at Mayo reported that from University College Cork did not
their research efforts.26 In contrast, a increased familiarity with a research area find research appealing.27 Specifically,
study conducted at Stanford University allowed them to become more confident these respondents felt that research
reported higher research engagement about their residency positions.13 Some was overly challenging, unstimulating,
during (compared with before) medical institutions provide an incentive, such as and generally uninteresting.27 A small
school.28 Further, 80% of these 73 funding or a formal distinction conferred proportion of them (3%) mentioned
respondents planned to do research with the medical degree, to encourage a previous negative experience that
during medical school, and 90% had students to engage in research.21,23 According contributed to their negative perception
actually performed research before to at least one report, students perceive a of research.27 Students also cited
matriculating at Stanford.28 financial incentive as a motivating factor.25 limited time,26,28 unreasonably high
Likewise, the lack of incentives altogether expectations,28 a paucity of mentors or
Discouraging and motivating factors may discourage students from exploring faculty guidance,24,26,28 and the perceived
Through our review of the literature, research.22 lack of acknowledgment for their
we identified factors that both deterred contributions26 as factors negatively
students from and motivated them to Benefits of research affecting their research experience in
pursue research experiences. According to Participants from different research medical school.
a study conducted at Queen’s University, programs felt that research allowed
Research outcomes
interaction with faculty was a motivating them to experience and develop both
factor for 75% of participants.14 Increased interpersonal and research-specific We found that tangible research
faculty interaction was also a motivating skills.2,12,14,18,27 For instance, a study by outcomes were typically used as indices
factor for Stanford University medical Burgoyne and colleagues27 states that of research success or productivity. Types
students who participated in research.28 A 92% of respondents reported having of research outcomes included generating
majority (62%) of the students at Queen’s developed acumen in both independent a comprehensive list of useful resources
University who participated in research were and collaborative research ability. from the literature,14 written reports,13,14,21
motivated to do so because they believed According to studies by Jacobs and publications,3,5,13,15,17,21,23–25,28 manuscripts
that the experience would help them Cross28 and Houlden and colleagues,14 prepared for possible publication,17,28 and
decide which field of medicine they might students reported an increased sense of presentations.3,5,13,15,16,21,23,25,28

1164 Academic Medicine, Vol. 90, No. 8 / August 2015

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 Review

Articles obtained for screening based on abstract Solomon and colleagues5 was unique in
review (n = 44)
that it evaluated the longitudinal impact
• PubMed: 19
• ProQuest: 2 of a research program on future research
• Ovid: 3 productivity; the authors noted that such
• Academic Medicine: 18 programs are successful in provoking
• Teaching and Learning in Medicine: 1 interest in medical students toward
• BMC Medical Education: 1
research and academic careers.

Duplicate articles excluded (n = 10)

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• 8 duplicate Discussion
• 1 triplicate (hence 2 articles removed)
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Medical educators promote the inclusion

of research into medical student training
to develop physicians who not only
Articles obtained for screening (n = 34)
• PubMed: 10
excel in clinical practice but who can
• ProQuest: 2 also critically evaluate new research and/
• Ovid: 3 or contribute to the creation of new
• Academic Medicine: 17 knowledge.1 In spite of this advocacy,
• Teaching and Learning in Medicine: 1
the proportion of physicians engaging
• BMC Medical Education: 1
in research has declined.5–9 To determine
Articles excluded after initial abstract review (n = 11) possible mechanisms to optimize the
• Not focused exclusively on research: 3 research experiences of medical students,
• Not primary research: 7
• Not exclusively on undergraduate medical
we conducted a review of the literature
students: 1 to characterize medical students’
experiences with, outcomes related to,
Research reports included for detailed review (n = 23) and attitudes toward/perceptions of
• PubMed: 6 research. Our review revealed that the
• ProQuest: 1
majority of medical students viewed
• Ovid: 3
• Academic Medicine: 11 their research experiences positively,
• Teaching and Learning in Medicine: 1 which may have contributed to an
• BMC Medical Education: 1 increased interest in conducting further
research in the future.5 Increased
medical student interest does not,
Reports excluded after detailed review (n = 3) however, translate to increased numbers
• Not primary research: 1 of physicians conducting research
• Full-text unavailable (abstract only): 2
later in their careers.5–9 Unreasonably
high expectations on medical student
Reports included in review (n = 20): participants despite limited time,26,28 as
• PubMed: 6 well as a lack of mentorship24,26,28 and
• Ovid: 1
• Academic Medicine: 11
appropriate acknowledgment,26 were
• Teaching and Learning in Medicine: 1 characterized as discouraging factors.
• BMC Medical Education: 1

Figure 1 Number of publications obtained in the search process, reasons for exclusion, and the
Notably, several of these factors, including
final number included in a review of literature on students’ experiences with, perceptions of, and lack of time and mentorship, also act as
outcomes related to research programs during medical school (1950–June 2013). barriers to performing research during
residency.29 An intervention implemented
Regardless of whether a research One group of investigators, Dyrbye specifically to address these barriers in
experience was voluntary or mandatory, and colleagues,15 examined the level one residency research program led to
publications or written reports and of research productivity as a function increased rates of national presentations,
presentations at scientific meetings and of research program length. Mayo publications, and fellowship placements
conferences were the most common Medical School featured a mandatory among participants.30 A similar approach,
measures of research productivity. For research program but offered students targeting specific barriers to undergraduate
instance, Jacobs and Cross28 report that the choice of one of three different medical student research, may yield similar
about 75% of students coauthored at research experience durations: 13 weeks, benefits with regard to tangible outcomes.
least one published article based on 17 or 18 weeks, or 21 weeks. Whereas
research they conducted during medical first authorship occurred less often Given Siemens and colleagues’ finding
school. Research day poster presentations for students experiencing the shorter that students who participated in research
were also common.25 A unique, tangible duration of research activity (17 or prior to medical school were more
outcome for students completing 18 weeks), other metrics related to likely to elect to participate in research
two elective research programs was a research outcomes (secondary author during medical school,26 early research
distinction conferred with their diplomas publications, abstract and conference experiences may be a motivating factor
that specifically noted their research presentations) did not vary in relation for pursing research as a medical student.
achievement.21,25 to the time allotted.15 Another study by Additionally, individuals who have

Academic Medicine, Vol. 90, No. 8 / August 2015 1165

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 Review

early, positive research experiences may A common theme we noticed in terms physician–scientists. Medical educators
likewise be more likely to seek out and of factors motivating students to pursue could use this review, including the
engage in research experiences at later research was distinction. Students factors that students noted as incentives
stages of their training.26 Optimizing the believed that a research experience and detriments, to optimize any research
research experience for medical students, would distinguish them from others as a program (mandatory or otherwise).
by addressing perceived barriers or result of the networks they could build, Specifically, the program should provide
facilitating more rewarding experiences, the exposure to different specialties clear and reasonable expectations of
could lead to better outcomes and to they might gain, the additional credits the student, plenty of mentor/faculty
students who are invested in future, and on diplomas they could earn, and the interaction, sufficient time for students to
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perhaps lifelong, scholarly activity. increased opportunities they would devote to their research, and mechanisms
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have to present and publish their work. for students to earn appropriate
Students in voluntary/elective research Similarly, we noted a belief that research acknowledgment for their work. A longer
programs were more satisfied with experience may enhance a student’s research program would allow students
their research experiences than those in chance of getting into a specific residency to devote more time to their research,
mandatory programs (74%–85% versus position. Indeed, some investigators and faculty members would likewise
45%–51%, respectively). This higher level have reviewed the profiles of students have increased time to engage and
of satisfaction appears to be unrelated successfully matched to the residency of mentor students. Further, students would
to research outcomes, as mandatory their choice, which showed that research likely have more time to obtain results
and elective research programs feature experience does increase the likelihood that could be published, which could
similar rates of student presentations and of matching success.31–33 More studies are conceivably lead to increased productivity
publications.13,15,17,21,24,28 This higher level required to better characterize students’ and satisfaction.
of satisfaction may be related, at least perceptions of and the actual value of
in part, to the likelihood that voluntary research experiences to future scholarship We found that productivity in the form
research programs include self-selected and academic advancement/success. of publications and presentations was
populations of students who have strong the most frequent measure of research
interests in and positive perceptions Common benefits of medical student outcomes. Generally, the majority
regarding research. Another factor to research programs are the self-reported of participants in research programs
consider is that some elective programs enhancement of research skills (e.g., published at least one article and
provide funding or/and a distinction critically appraising literature, writing presented their findings at meetings.
acknowledging students’ involvement in for scholarly journals).14 Whereas most The level of productivity appeared
research21,23,25; these incentives may also of these skills pertain to the CanMEDS to be similar for both mandatory
enhance student satisfaction. role of scholar, skills gained from research and voluntary research programs.
training may transfer to other CanMEDS Information on the duration required for
The length of both mandatory and roles as well (e.g., Collaborator and manuscript preparation was not reported
elective programs varied. The impact of Communicator). However, to date, in the studies. It would be of great
research experience duration on students’ the reported enhancements of medical interest to examine how the frequency of
perceptions of the experience and on student competencies attributed to publication influences students’ attitudes
research outcomes has not been well research participation have been toward current and future engagement in
defined in the literature. One study did subjective in nature.2,14,16,18,25,27,28 Future research.
indicate that rates of first authorship research, using more objective measures
increase as students devote longer periods (e.g., academic contributions such as Solomon and colleagues5 determined
of time to the research program15; publications, metrics regarding how that many students participating in the
however, other metrics (such as overall often published research was cited or undergraduate research programs at the
publication rate) were not influenced by accessed, conference presentations, University of Tennessee and Vanderbilt
program duration. The increased rates of invited seminars, and competitive grants University medical schools went on to
first authorship may indicate that longer or awards earned), may help determine conduct research later in their medical
periods of research time may facilitate whether undergraduate medical research careers. However, none of the other
higher levels of student contribution to programs support the development of studies we reviewed addressed whether
the research project, including taking a student competencies related to both medical student research programs and
larger role in manuscript preparation. scholar and nonscholar roles; positive experiences actually led to increases
This greater role may result in a findings may solidify the justification and in research activity and productivity
more complete and fulfilling research value of such programs. (e.g., grant funding, publications,
experience, given students’ reported presentations, or simply conducting
appreciation for both being able to Despite some detriments, the general research) later in physician careers.
disseminate their work26 and being able attitudes and perceptions of medical Although gathering such metrics over
to develop scientific writing skills.14 It students toward research have been long periods of time is admittedly
is therefore possible that increasing the notably positive. Implementing a challenging, the resulting data are vital
duration of the research experience mandatory research program could for determining the value of current
may increase the rate of student first introduce students to research and research programs, optimizing ongoing
authorship and, in turn, enhance allow them to benefit from the generally programs, and initiating new programs.
students’ perceptions of their research positive effects reported. Such a program We suggest that medical schools follow
program experience. may mitigate the current decrease in the example of Solomon and colleagues5

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 Review

and survey former participants about Overall, most measures discussed in research in the development of physician–
their current and postprogram research this literature review (e.g., publication scientists. J Investig Med. 2003;51:149–156.
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8 Pretorius ES, Solomon JA, Stribling C.

programs can also help inform current support the notion that students who Medical student attitudes toward inclusion
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research training programs for medical participate in research during their of a research year within diagnostic
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Ethical approval: Reported as not applicable. Publications and presentations resulting
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Appendix 1
Reviewed Reports (1950–June 2013) on Students’ Experiences With, Outcomes Related
to, and Perspectives on Research Experiences During Medical School

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Ebbert12 1960 Medical students Yale School of Curriculum Experience (skills obtained)
(n = 1,206 from Medicine (mandatory) • 83% felt thesis-based research helped in evaluating
26 classes over (United States) medical literature
25 years from
1928 to 1952) Attitudes/perception
• 63% of full-time faculty indicated some influence of
research on ultimate medical career selection
• 98% in favor of research as part of curriculum (either
required or elective)
Paiva19 1975 Graduating 7 medical Elective 3.2 months Attitudes/perception
seniors (n = 580) schools in the (median) during • 14%: benefits are negligible
United States medical school
(mostly summer • 51%: positive but no further activity planned
fellowship) • 35% planning further research
Fisher21 1981 Medical students University of Elective Experience
(1969–1978) Florida College • 74% reported a good to excellent research experience
of Medicine
(United States) Incentive
• Prize ($500)
• Distinction conferred with their medical degree
Attitudes/perception
• 94% thinks a research option should be included in curriculum
• 41% of participants later continued to be involved in research
Outcomes
• Monthly conference
• Written report
• 66% published
• 19% presented at regional and/or national meetings
McPherson13 1984 Third-year medical Mayo Medical Mandatory Experience (skills obtained)
students (from School (United • Article appraisal improvement
1975 to 1981 States)
[n = 244]) Attitudes/perception
• Acquainted with a research area  more confident about
residency positions
• 47% planned to include a research fellowship (versus 28%
nationally)
Outcomes
• 96% (234/244) completed the writing assignment
• 56% (132/234) either presented or published  51% on
basic science, 49% clinical

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Appendix 1
(Continued)

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Kemph23 1984 Medical students Medical Elective summer Experience
(entering class of College of research program • 85% positive response
1980) Ohio (United
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States) • 58% experienced high levels of supervision and support

• 81% satisfied with experience
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Incentive
• Research awards of $1,000 for two best students
Attitudes
• 49/120 students interested in future research
Outcomes
• Research seminar
• Publication
• Presentation at meetings
Jacobs28 1995 Medical students Stanford Any research 73% response rate (of 100 students)  data collected from
(class of 1991) University experience these respondents
School of during medical Experience
Medicine school (research
(United States) assistantships, • 80% planned to do research in medical school
advanced • 90% actually performed research
research degree • Motivation as the following:
programs, summer
studentship) –Interest in research questions
– Faculty interactions
– Debt reduction
Experience (skills obtained)
• Formulating research questions
• Data analysis
• New techniques used
• Research methodology
• Critical appraisal
• Manuscript writing
• Conducting research
Attitudes/perception
• Provided motivation to do further research and professional
satisfaction (79%), a role model (70%), and ease in career
decision (61%)
• 79% satisfied
• 97% research as part of curriculum
• 21% unsatisfied  time management, too much expectation
from mentor, inadequate faculty guidance, loss of leisure time
Outcomes
• 75% coauthored at least one published article based on
research conducted during medical school  45% are first
author on published article (50% > on 1 paper, 22% on 2
papers, 11% on 3, 16% on 4)
• 80% with at least one in preparation
• 52% presented at a conference
Blazer18 2001 Medical students Duke University Elective Experiences
(class of 1996 and School of • 67%, 71% (respectively, 1996, 1998 classes) learned
1998) Medicine scientific method
(United States)
• 67%, 73% (respectively, 1996, 1998 classes) felt increased
appreciation of biomedical research

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 Review

Appendix 1
(Continued)

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Solomon5 2003 Medical students University of Elective National Perception
from two Tennessee Institutes of • Interest in an academic career increased
participating Health Science Health (NIH)-
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schools Center and sponsored Medical • One-third to one-half of former student respondents
Vanderbilt Student Research considered themselves to be in academic medicine
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University Fellowship • The vast majority of students conducted additional

School of programs (MSRFs) research after their medical student research experience
Medicine in summer
(United States) Outcome
• A large number of students were currently doing
research or had published or presented their work at
scientific meetings
Houlden14 2004 Medical students Queen’s A mandatory Experience (motivation/expectation)
(class of 2002) University minimum 8-week • 75% making “contacts” useful for postgraduate training
School of “critical enquiry”
Medicine program • 62% for making decision on area of medicine to pursue
(Canada) • 47% expected a presentation
Experience (skills obtained)
• 68% manuscript preparation
• 53% literature search
• 47% critical appraisal
• 43% problem formulation
• 33% survey design, clinical skill
• 32% statistical analysis, presentation skills
• 6% laboratory skill
Attitudes/perception
• Confidence in making a decision regarding to a career in
medical research pre and post elective increased from 50%
to 77%
• Overall interest in pursuing a career in medical research
increased from 35% to 42%
• Endorsement of the usefulness in decision making
in pursuing research increased from 40% to 53%
(47% more interested, 47% same, 6% less interested)
Outcomes
• Completed a literature search
• Final written report
Zier25 2006 Medical students Mount Sinai Any type of Experience (skills obtained)
from all 4 years School of research (electives • 90% gained knowledge
(1996–2004) Medicine during all 4 years;
(United States) elective summer Attitudes/Perception
research after the • 80% felt increased interest in applying research to
first year; and/or medicine
a scholarly leave,
during which they • 70% felt increased interest in research
spend a full year • 20% neutral
doing research,
usually following Outcomes
the second or third • Abstracts (published)
year) • Research day presentation (poster presentations + 4 oral)
• Distinction in research noted on diplomas
• Manuscript publication (doubled from 11% in 1998 to
25% in 2004)

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 Review

Appendix 1
(Continued)

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Dyrbye15
2008 Medical students Mayo Medical Mandatory Outcomes
(n = 998 who School (United third-year medical • Articles (from 981 graduates): 584 (in 21-week group), 329
participated in States) school research (17- to 18-week groups), 68 (13-week group)
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research between experience (21

1976 and 2003) weeks, 18 or 17 • Abstracts (from 998 graduates): 594 (21-week), 336 (17- to
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weeks, or 13 18-week), 68 (13-week)

weeks long) • Presentations (from 920 graduates): 516 (21-week), 336
(17- to 18-week), 68 (13-week)
• Articles + abstracts + presentations (from 907 graduates):
510 (21-week), 329 (17- to 18-week), 68 (13-week)
Hunskaar17 2009 Medical students Norwegian 2-year medical Experience
(who graduated medical schools student research • 46% satisfied, 38% somewhat satisfied
before the end of (n = 4) program (elective)
2006) • Three-quarters satisfied with the supervision, 19% required
more supervision
• 80% want to do a PhD
• 7% very high supervisor expectation, 63% high expectation
• 86% lab-based research
Outcome
• 50% published/about to submit
Langhammer20 2009 Medical student Robert Wood Elective modular Experience
participants (fall Johnson research • Early exposure  higher application and success rates for
2004 – spring Medical School opportunity summer funding
2008) (United States) (Module 1 [first
year]: student • Later exposure  higher rates of first-author publication
interest in research
lecture and practical
components, and
summer research
fellowship; Module
2 [second through
fourth year and
beyond]: Distinction
in research)
Burgoyne27 2010 Medical students University Elective scholarly Experience (skills obtained)
(n = 317) College Cork, activity + core • 92% reported experience practicing teamwork skills and
School of mandatory time to work independently
Medicine research module
(Ireland) • 39% research-specific skills (i.e., study design)
Positive attitude (74%)
• 32% for professional advancement
• 12% for integration of medicine
• 10% for career progression
• 5% for career satisfaction
• 5% for occasional activity
Negative attitude (19%)
• 13% had “no appeal”
• 11% was unsure
• 9% didn’t appreciate isolation from interacting with people
• 3% had negative prior experience
Murdoch-Eaton2 2010 37 medical Five UK Mandatory Experience (skills obtained)
students medical schools in-curriculum • Research methods
program
• Information gathering
• Critical analysis and review
• Data processing

• 52% 1+ skills
• 13% in all areas
• 17% undetermined

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 Review

Appendix 1
(Continued)

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Gotterer16 2010 Medical students Vanderbilt Mandatory Attitudes/Perception
(n = 467) University research program • 80% reported intention to get involved in research
School of
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Medicine • 58.5% considered it to be a valuable aspect in medical

(United States) education; 30.2% neutral
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• 50.9% feel better prepared for scholarship in medicine

• 30.2% think more likely to pursue academic medicine
Outcome
• 24 students per class presented at national meetings
Siemens26 2010 Second- and Medical All types of Experience
fourth-year schools in research prior to • 87% had been involved prior to
medical students Ontario, and/or during
between February Canada medical school • 43% not significantly during
and May of 2005 (Queens • 24% no interest at all
(n = 327; 113 University,
from Queen’s University of Attitudes/perception (of barriers)
University, 98 Ottawa, and • Too little time
from University University • Dearth of research mentors
of Western of Western
Ontario, 116 Ontario) • Inadequate training in research methodology
from University of • Perception that students wouldn’t be adequately
Ottawa) acknowledged
• Positive attitudes toward research in fourth year, more so
compared with second
Laskowitz3 2010 Medical students Duke University Mandatory (part of Duke
School of curriculum) Experience
Medicine
and Stanford • 48% (49/102) rated as excellent
Medicine • 45% (46/102) rated as very good/good
(United States)
Attitudes/Perception
• Increased interest in an academic career after the program
from 71% to 81%
• 87% felt research influenced their academic career choice
Outcome
• Two-thirds have at least one scholarly, peer-reviewed article
during med school
Stanford
Attitudes/Perception
• Three-quarters motivated to do further research
• 60% plan a full-time academic career
Productivity
• 90% did research in medical school
• 75% published at least one manuscript
• 52% presented
de Oliveira22 2011 Medical students 13 medical Elective internship Attitudes/Perception
(n = 1,004) programs in 6 program (usually • Lack of institutional incentive
Brazilian states takes place in the
last 2 years of the • Defective infrastructure
6-year medical • Insufficient time available
course in Brazil)

(Appendix continues)

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 Review

Appendix 1
(Continued)

Location of Research
First author Year of program program
last nameRef. no. study Respondents and/or study type Outcomes measured
Griffin24 2011 Medical students 7 medical Any types Experience
(n = 515) schools in of research • 49% had prior experience
the United experience during
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Kingdom medical school Attitudes/Perception

training
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• 86% would want research opportunity (91% in clinical

research; 52% in laboratory)
• 62% not encouraged by the seniors
• 57% want research/publication to gain experience
Outcomes
• 14% submitted an article for publication (career
progression as motivation in 51%)
• 85% no submission mostly due to no opportunity to take
part in research

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